Police warn of "incredibly treacherous" roads after early-morning crashes on A14 in Northamptonshire

A lorry stranded on the A14 slip road this morning. Photos: @Northants_RCT

Police and traffic agencies have issued stern warnings after a series of crashes on Northamptonshire's roads on Monday morning.

A spokesman for the force said the A14 in particular is "incredibly treacherous" after Sunday's snow turned to ice as temperatures tumbled to MINUS SIX overnight.

One lorry skidded off the eastbound slip road at Junction 13 near Thrapston, blocking the road for a while, and more trucks are stranded on the A605.

A car skidded into the central reservation barrier on the A14

Northants Highways tweeted: "Lorries are stuck having braked quickly on A605 near to the A14. We are there and have another gritter on way to assist.

"All our precautionary routes have salt down and we are out now gritting the adverse routes."

Officers from the Northamptonshire Police Road Crime and Response teams posted pictures of cars crashed into the central reservation barrier and in ditches off minor roads, although no major injuries have been reported.

A Force spokesman said: "The A14 remains incredibly treacherous on Monday morning and with temperatures remaining low all day this is unlikely to improve quickly.

Police came across this car crashed into a ditch after skidding off the road. Photo: @Norpol_P0665

"The message remains the same “Stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives."

"If you do need to make that essential journey today, please take extra care on the roads. Even once the snow starts to melt, it will still leave lots of standing water.

"Please drive to the conditions! If you have a 4x4, “All Drive”, “X-Drive”, “4-Matic” or whatever you manufacturer calls it it doesn’t mean you can drive over the speed limit.

"Having these types of car doesn’t guarantee safety on icy roads."

A spokesman for Highways England, which manages the motorway and main road network through Northamptonshire, said: "We are dealing with a high volume of incidents across the region this morning. If you MUST make your ESSENTIAL journey, then please drive to the conditions."

Bus operators STAGECOACH say routes in Kettering and Corby are still being affected by Sunday's snow while their route No 87 is unable to serve Greens Norton due to ice on the roads.